Hello! Welcome to another edition of the A’s Beat newsletter. WEST SACRAMENTO – The Jacob Wilson phenomenon is finally getting recognized by the rest of the baseball world. Competing with no shortage of superstar shortstops in the American League, Wilson stands above them all. The Athletics shortstop was revealed as the leading vote-getter at his position for the AL side in the first balloting update for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game on Monday. Wilson led all AL shortstops with 562,696 votes, a mark that ranked as the seventh-highest total of any AL player. Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. was second among AL shortstops with 519,984 votes. “For Jacob to be in that category right now where he’s at, it’s a pretty great accomplishment,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “We’re still a little ways out from running through this finish line. But for a player on the A’s to have that type of national attention, it says a lot about his year.” |
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The A’s have not had a fan-elected starter to the All-Star Game since third baseman Josh Donaldson in 2014. They haven’t had a starting shortstop in the Midsummer Classic since Bert Campaneris in 1974. If any player is going to end those droughts, Wilson might have the strongest case by an A's player in quite some time. He entered Monday’s series opener against the Astros at Sutter Health Park carrying a .367 batting average and 97 hits, both of which ranked second in the Majors, trailing only Yankees slugger Aaron Judge (.378, 99 hits). The reigning AL Rookie of the Month for May, Wilson is currently boat racing his peers as the runaway favorite for AL Rookie of the Year. The 23-year-old shortstop entered play Monday leading all Major League rookies in batting average, hits, on-base percentage (.401), slugging (.513), OPS (.915), runs (39), RBIs (38) and extra-base hits (23), while his eight home runs are second-most among rookies. "Nationally, he’s being recognized for what he’s doing,” Kotsay said. “In terms of the amount of hits he’s collected and being amongst the best in the game at shortstop right now.” |
Brent Rooker, in search of his second career All-Star selection, came in seventh for fan voting among AL designated hitters with 165,126 votes. Tyler Soderstrom, meanwhile, was 14th in outfield voting at 218,444 votes. Kotsay singled out Rooker as a player who he believes deserves more love on the ballot. Rooker entered Monday hitting .278 with an .847 OPS, 15 home runs and 41 RBIs, leading all primary AL DHs in homers and tied for most RBIs in the wake of Boston’s Rafael Devers getting traded to the Giants on Sunday. Of those currently on the ballot for the position, only Ryan O’Hearn (1.9) had a higher fWAR than Rooker’s mark of 1.7. “You can look at Rook, too,” Kotsay said. “Rook’s starting to heat up. He’s starting to swing the bat well. The year he’s having right now, I’m not familiar with everyone around the league in the DH spot, but I think he definitely should be talked about as well for the year he’s having.” |
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Denzel Clarke is already setting records just three weeks into his Major League career. For a third consecutive week, the A’s rookie center fielder earned the Electric Play of the Week presented by Chevrolet for his insane over-the-wall catch at Angel Stadium last week to rob Nolan Schanuel of a home run. After also receiving the honor on June 2 for his home run robbery in Toronto and again the next week after crashing into the center-field wall at Sutter Health Park for a run-saving catch, Clarke is the first player ever to win the award in three straight weeks. “I think there’s a combination of luck and skill in that,” Kotsay said. “You’ve got to get the perfect ball that aligns with making a play that qualifies to be ‘electric.’ But he’s done things defensively that go unnoticed that are just as electric. In that same game he made that catch to win this award, he made a play in the gap that he made look easy, which, there aren’t many center fielders in the game that can make those type of plays look easy.” |
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For the upcoming June 22 game against the Guardians at Sutter Health Park, every fan in attendance will receive a Mason Miller bobblehead. Presented by NBC Sports California, the bobblehead fittingly features Miller firing a baseball with flames coming off it. The bobblehead is the second of three designed after A’s players this season. Lawrence Butler also gets his own bobblehead giveaway on July 10 against the Braves. |
“We’re looking at the amount of games we have in front of us. The length that J.T. and others provide down in the bullpen, [Sean] Newcomb, [Osvaldo] Bido, Harris all provide multiple innings. With the job [Michael] Kelly has done and the job [Tyler Ferguson] has done and with Mason [Miller] and [T.J.] McFarland, we’ve got a good mix of guys that are leverage guys and guys that can provide innings.” - Kotsay on the decision to reinstate right-hander J.T. Ginn from the injured list and option reliever Grant Holman to Triple-A Las Vegas. |
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